Dallas Cowboys Blog

Mel Kiper released his first mock draft on Wednesday and he had the Cowboys selecting North Carolina offensive guard Jonathan Cooper.

Kiper ranks Cooper, a 6-3, 295-pound 22-year-old, as the eighth overall player and the second-best guard on his big board.

“The Cowboys had an uneven season on the offensive line, and Cooper will provide an upgrade immediately,” the ESPN draft expert wrote. “This is a complete guard, a player who is exceptional at delivering blocks and moving in tight quarters, and he moves extremely well for the position. He can deliver an initial blow to eliminate an interior defender and then move easily to the second level where he can line up linebackers and safeties and block in space.”

If the Cowboys are looking for Tony Romo’s successor in this draft, Kiper’s mock draft shows they will have their pick of the litter, considering he doesn’t have a single quarterback coming off the board in the first round. It’s highly unlikely that a quarterback isn’t selected in Round One. At least two quarterbacks have been taken in the first round since 2002. Since 1997, at least one quarterback has been taken in the first round.

Kiper’s mock draft has six offensive linemen going during the first 32 picks with Cooper and Alabama’s Chance Warmack being the only guards. In regards to the other NFC East teams, Kiper has the Philadelphia Eagles selecting Alabama cornerback Dee Milliner with the fourth overall pick and the New York Giants taking LSU defensive lineman Sam Montgomery with the 19th overall pick. The Washington Redskins traded away their first-round pick last year when they acquired the second overall pick, which they used to draft Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III.